MONMOUTH SCHOOL for Boys BOYS 11-18 NEWS Michaelmas Term Week 10 November 2017 A note from the Monmouth School Headmaster I hope that you have all had an excellent and enjoyable half term break. Thank you to the students and staff who took part in our various trips, including the Western Front trip, and the languages trips to France and Germany. Reports on these trips are included in this newsletter. You will also see a report on the outstanding work of our Form IV boys in the Great Gwent Poppy Run. The coming weekend is one of the busiest in the school year, with Armistice, and a vast amount of sport on Saturday, and then Remembrance and the Prep Schools Challenge that we host on Sunday. I am very grateful to the boys for their many contributions to these activities. Top Stories FORM IV BOYS FUNDRAISING POPPY RUN Well done to seven of our Form IV boys, who completed the Great Gwent Poppy Run on 5 November. The event, which is one of Gwent Royal British Legion s main fundraising events, involves a 10-mile long course, seeing participants cross the battlefield through the mud and smoke into no man s land and it commemorates the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, which lasted from July 31 to November 10. Rui, Alex, Edward, Freddy, Angus, Hamish and Ben showed great determination and team work to complete the course in style. Well done boys!
LATEST RUGBY NEWS - U12 & U13 SUCCESS BUT FREE-RUNNING CRAWSHAYS PROVE TOO MUCH FOR 1ST XV The Wednesday before half term saw Under 12 fixtures against Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The A team saw off their opposition 50 points to nil in a highly impressive display. The B and C teams also had games, winning 35-0 and 35-10 respectively. The U13s faced local rivals Caerleon with the A team coming out on top 50-0 and the B team also winning 44-14. The 1st XV took on Crawshays, a Welsh barbarian team. Despite only meeting one another just before kick-off the Crawshays barbarian brand of high speed rugby saw them go into a 14-0 lead. Just before the half time break, however, Dai gathered a high kick and strolled under the posts untouched, making the half time score 14 points to 7. Two well worked tries from Crawshays in the second half saw them close out the game 24-7. Notable mentions must go to Alex, Jeffrey and Oliver for putting in good performances on their 1st XV debuts. BAKE SALE A HIT FOR SEVERN HOUSE Business was brisk when Severn House hosted their annual charity cake sale on the last day of last half term. Many of the boys showed impressive baking talents, producing some delicious cakes (and thank you to all parents who had a hand in that too!) and raised a total of nearly 100 which will be donated to CRY and The Syrian Hands Up Foundation. CALLING ALL PROGRAMMERS AND SOFT- WARE DESIGNERS - COMPUTER SCIENCE FAIR 2017 IS ALMOST HERE Students have been busy with National Cipher Challenge 2017, preparation for BE- BRAS Computational Thinking competition in November and the RaspberryPi Pioneers competition to build devices to survive a Zombie Apocalypse. On 19 November 2017 we will have our Computer Science Fair 2017 and hope lots of boys will use the half term to program a project, or build with hardware and software, ready to demonstrate. Click on the poster to sign up for this year s Computer Science Fair.
NUREMBERG EXCHANGE - LASTING EUROPEAN FRIENDSHIPS FORMED During the half-term holiday, eight boys and seven girls travelled to Nuremberg to take part in the German Exchange. During the trip, boys had the opportunity not only to improve their language skills, but also to experience life in another country, attending school and a variety of clubs and social events with their host partners. As a group, we had a tour of the historic city of Nuremberg and the city dungeons, visited the Documentation Centre at the site of the former Nazi Party Rally Grounds, enjoyed a day trip to Munich and a guided tour of the Deutsches Museum as well as a day at a climbing centre just outside the city. As ever, the Exchange was a fantastic opportunity not only for boys to practice their German, but also to learn more about the German culture, history and society and to build lasting friendships with their exchange partners. FORM I AND II CROSS THE CHANNEL FOR A LINGUISTIC BREAK 27 Form I and II boys set off for the Loire Valley on Sunday 22 October. Over the next four days, they visited the sumptuous royal chateaux of Chambord, Chenonceau and Blois; they went on a very informative cruise on the Cher river, and discovered its key role during WW2. Also, in complete contrast, they spent a day in the Futuroscope where everyone had a lot of fun in the fast and furious 4D attractions. There was also the opportunity to experience another aspect of French culture; shopping in a North African market in Blois. During this fantastic foreign sojourn there were also many chances to sample French cuisine- they particularly enjoyed the crêpes!
RESPECTS PAID ON POWERFUL BATTLEFIELDS TRIP Thirty-two students and four staff from Monmouth School spent four days on the First World War battlefields of the Western Front. Visits were made to sites closely associated with the school and with local regiments. Based in Ypres they followed the course of the fighting in the area from August 1914 to November 1918. Wreaths were laid at the Menin Gate memorial to the missing during the Last Post ceremony and at the memorial to the men of the First Battalion Monmouthshire Regiment which took heavy casualties in May 1915 on the Frezenburg Ridge in the aftermath of the first gas attack. Walking the ground and hearing stories of the harrowing events of these sites had a powerful impact on the whole party. On the way to Vimy Ridge we visited the Seaforth Highlanders memorial at Fampoux Arras where James was able to pay his respects to his great-grandfather, Angus Robertson (1897-1953), who had been wounded in fighting there in April 1917. FRENCH THEATRE IN THE BLAKE - C EST INTÉRESSANT! Pupils from MB, MG, MBP and MGP gathered in the Blake theatre Monday 6 November 2017 to watch and take part in a French play- Le chateau, which was (loosely) based on finding Henry VIII his fourth wife, Anne de Clèves. Lots of laughs and interactive moments made this French theatre experience a real success.
SPOTLIGHT ON ENRICHMENT - SELF DEFENCE As this newsletter is a record of all aspects of school life we ve decided to shine a light on an area of the 6th Form timetable which some may not know about which adds a large amount of value to the education of the MB and MG students. Enrichment runs twice a week alongside the 6th form A level studies. It offers students free choice from a wide variety of courses that can either compliment, or contrast with, their formal academic studies. Some courses lead to externally awarded certification (Lifeguarding; first aid; Football refereeing for example), but all are designed to stretch and challenge the sixth formers. This week: Self defence A perennial favourite, this course is designed to equip students to deal with situations we all hope not to be involved in, but cannot afford not to prepare for. The course is delivered by Mr Darryl Cross, a widely respected Kung fu practitioner, and is very much hands on. Pupils start by learning how to avoid a situation in the first place, moving onto how to release themselves from a wide variety of grips an attacker might take, at a pace to suit the individuals. The emphasis is always on avoidance and defence rather than attack, remembering that the Queensberry rules don t apply on the street. WyeHack event on Sunday 3 December from 2pm to 5pm. Free meet for student coders to bring projects and ideas, use hardware & software to build an app, a website, a game, anything. Get support for ideas & join workshops. Bring a laptop, Raspberry Pi, tablet, or any device you can code on. Click on the image to find out more and book your place.
COMING UP AT THE BLAKE THEATRE: Live on stage: Saturday 11th November 7.30pm Monmouth Choral Society - Vivaldi: Dixit Dominus, Gloria and Magnificat Live on our big screen: Thursday 16th November 7.00pm National Theatre Live: Follies Live on our big screen: Saturday 18th November 5.55pm Met Opera: The Exterminating Angel CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO BUY TICKETS FOR THIS EVENT Click here to see all of our news stories on the website. Calendar Dates: Fri 10 November Sat 11 November Sun 12 November Tue 14 November Wed 15 November Thu 16 November Form VI.1 Internal Tests Form VI Scholarships Armistice Day Form VI Scholarships 8.40a.m. Chaplain s Assembly for Armistice Day 10.15a.m. Brass Ensemble meets (Music School) 10.50a.m. Act of Remembrance (School War Memorial) Boarders Activity: 6.30p.m. Cinema (Newport) Chess: Welsh Junior Chess (Chepstow) Rowing: Pangbourne Head: J16 - J18 Rugby: v. St Edward s School, Oxford: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, U15A, B & C XVs (A) Depart 11.30a.m., K.O. 2.45p.m. U16A & B, U14A, B & C XVs (H) K.O. 2.45p.m. REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY 9.00a.m. Chapel Choir rehearsal (Chapel) 9.30a.m. CCF meet for Parade (Outside Science Block) 10.00a.m. Chapel: Service for Remembrance Sunday: Chapel Choir, Buchanan, New, School, Weirhead, MG Augusta House & Twiston-Davies 1.00p.m. Prep Schools Challenge (William Jones Building and Library) Rowing: Fours Head: 1st Boats (London) Monmouth Enterprise Initiative: The Worshipful Company of International Bankers (London) Depart 12.00 noon(to 15 November, 7.00p.m.) 8.00p.m. Boarders Multi-Activity: Form IV/Year 10 (School House) 7.00p.m. George Shuffrey Competition for String Players (Music School) Rugby: v. Caerleon Comprehensive School: U12A & B XVs (H) v. Queen Elizabeth s Hospital Bristol: U13A, B & C XVs (A) Lunch 12.30p.m., Depart 1.00p.m., K.O. 2.30p.m. 7.00p.m. - 9.00p.m. Form III - VI.2: Your Future in Languages (MG - Main Hall) Swimming: MB/MG v. Cathedral School, Llandaff: Y9-11 / U16 (H) 4.15p.m.